A third of babies with Down Syndrome are born with an abnormal blood production called TAM (transient abnormal myelopoiesis), which is an expansion of immature, leukemia-like, blood cells that carry a mutation called Gata1s. TAM is associated with a significant increase in death shortly after birth, and roughly 1 in 4 babies that survive the neonatal period develops leukemia before the age of 4. It is not well understood how or when TAM arises during fetal life.

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